Rebirth
by Emiko96
Summary: AU. He was an avenger. A warrior of obligation. She was a lost one. A victim of the will to escape. Two polar opposites come together to find the dream they once lost. Collab with ReiraKurenai. SasukexOC and other pairings.
1. The Avenger

**This is a collab between anime-fan-forever and ReiraKurenai. It will be written as a collection of interconnected drabbles, so chapters will be drabble length - sometimes longer if we find it neccassary. It will have several pairings.  
**

**We do not own Naruto. We only own our OCs.

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_The Avenger_

It was a typical summer's day in the Land of Fire. The sun blazed high in the sky, leaving a trail of warmth everywhere the rays touched. There was no wind, leaving the air mucky, dry and hot. Sweat trailed down the bodies of workers, travelers and merchants. Women complained that their babies were too hot to calm down. The wails of infants spread across the lands. The streets smelled of boiling broth, rice, fish, human stench and other odors. People scurried along in their fervor, hoping to get the day's job done.

A pair of onyx black eyes stared coldly and absently at a large ancient oak tree. His blue hakama clung to his sweaty skin. His sword that rested on his hip had become heavy during his long day of traveling. He bit his lip in anger, drawing blood. His onyx eyes burned crimson, leaving three tomoe to spin wildly as he glared at the tree before him.

_He had been here. _There was no doubt of it. His goal should have passed through this village. This small, disgusting village. Yet, as he stood in the center of this fowl place, he could not pick up any trace that his brother had been here. In fact, the place was clean. Too clean. There was no sign of battle, no sign of blood ever have being spilled. It was like this village was devoid of samurai and war.

Uchiha Sasuke spat at the ground in frustration, then he turned around and walked away, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.


	2. The Red Riding Thief

**This is a collab between anime-fan-forever and ReiraKurenai. It will be written as a collection of interconnected drabbles, so chapters will be drabble length - sometimes longer if we find it neccassary. It will have several pairings.  
**

**We do not own Naruto. We only own our OCs.

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**

_The Red Riding Thief_

The adrenaline raced around her limbs as she turned the corner at a run, nearly flattening an old man strolling by. She smiled sheepishly as he yelled insults after her disappearing form. Looking over her slight shoulder provided a blurry view of the same man being bowled over by the single policeman who was after her. The perfect chance of a getaway.

She turned another corner into a bustling market place full of people, animals and stalls of food. This was a bad place for her to be seen. The hot sun beat down on her in the billowing red cape she wore over her face as she dodged mothers with children, men carrying crates and animals running loose under her feet.

More policemen appeared out of a side street as she ducked behind a vacant stall. Obviously none of them had seen her hide for soon after fast footsteps hurried by and the clink of fine metal swords dangling on belts disappeared.

Pulling her red cape off and neatly folding it into a small bag, slung over her shoulder, alongside a loaf of bread and chunk of cheese, Suzu smiled to herself and stood. She whistled soft and low as a small yellow and white canary landed on her shoulder.

"Where should we eat today, Rurijo?"


	3. The Act of Being a Gentleman

**A/N: This is a collab with ReiraKurenai. We are not affiliated with the creators or producers of Naruto in any way. No profit is made from writing this. We do own our OCs.**

**P.S - For those who are curious, the time period we have based this fic on is the Edo, Bakumatsu and Meiji Periods of Japan.

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_The Act of Being a Gentleman_

He placed several coins on the wooden counter before him, took the bag of rice and then left the small store without even a glance. His onyx eyes immediately shifted to a group of men, all dressed in similar uniform. _Police_.

Sasuke quickly evaded the officers' gaze, and made his way through the crowded village. His stomach grumbled loudly. Sasuke didn't like eating, in fact he detested it, but it was something he had to do to survive. He cannot die yet. Not until he achieves his goal. He will embrace death when that time comes.

"Stop that thief!" a police officer yelled. Clearly this village was not safe, even in broad daylight. Sasuke ignored the sirens and moved forward, his mind set on leaving this place where his brother clearly has not been. Sasuke was so set on getting away, that he did not see the flash of red before him until he actually collided with it. A girly yelp echoed from the red shadow as it collapsed onto the ground. Sasuke pushed past, ignoring whoever he just bumped into.

"Hey!" a female voice demanded. Sasuke kept moving forward. "I said hey, dammit!"

Sasuke stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Behind him stood a short, petite girl with a bob of raven hair and sky blue eyes. Her hands were resting on her pink kimono clad hips underneath her red cape that danced around her.

"Aren't you going to be a gentleman and apologize?" she demanded. Sasuke glared at her, but decided he was going to ignore her and once again he continued moving forward.

Suzu huffed as she watched the raven haired man leave without even apologizing.

"Stop that thief!" a police officer yelled as he pointed at Suzu. She blinked, cursed and pulled her cape over her head again, then she grabbed the bread she dropped and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.


	4. The Sword of Kusanagi

**A/N: This is a collab with ReiraKurenai. We are not affiliated with the creators or producers of Naruto in any way. No profit is made from writing this. We do own our OCs.**

**P.S - For those who are curious, the time period we have based this fic on is the Edo, Bakumatsu and Meiji Periods of Japan.**

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_The Sword of Kusanagi_

The sun beat down, hotter today than any other day she could remember it being. Her stomach rumbled and the pain shot right through her. It was hard to find food when everyone in the town was looking for her, it was time to move to the next one.

She walked slowly down the road, the houses started to thin out and there were only a few dotted here and there when she saw sitting under a tree across the way, a young man. But what really caught her eye was the long, intricate sword sitting across his lap. His arms were casually resting across the blade within the sheath, and his head hung down as though asleep.

Rurijo made a small noise in her breast as though reading Suzu's mind and flew up to the man. He didn't flinch or look up.

"He must be asleep," Suzu concluded. On her tip toes she approached him and reached out her hand to grab the sword.

Many people walked by that day, none of them stopped to talk to him. He didn't care. Even though the hot sun seemed to burn holes in the ground it didn't affect him. Nothing seemed to matter. Until something different came to his attention.

It was just one sound, a tiny scuffle. If any normal person were busy thinking or doing something they may not have noticed, but he knew someone or something was standing near by.

He didn't open his eyes but he listened carefully. Nothing more happened until a slim shadow fell across his lap and the top of his head, blocking a section of sunlight from his sheath. His eyes were open in an instant but he didn't lift his head, hoping the person would just leave.

The sword gleamed in the sunlight, a bright light in her eyes but she reached further after a moments hesitation.

"It's got to be worth a fortune." A small voice in her head started bugging her about doing the right thing and walking away, before she stole the innocent man's sword. She pushed it aside and gripped the handle of the sword.

His hand shot out and gripped the small hand around the hilt of his sword and he looked up with his onyx eyes at the petite face of the young girl from the market.


	5. The Silver Piece

**A/N: This is a collab with ReiraKurenai. We are not affiliated with the creators or producers of Naruto in any way. No profit is made from writing this. We do own our OCs.**

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_The Silver Piece_

Sasuke rarely lost his temper. He preferred to stay quiet and out of trouble, so he usually remained stoic. But as he sat there under the tree, his hands grasping tightly onto his sword he couldn't help, but feel anger boil inside of him. A pair of innocent blue eyes watched him in fear. Good. She should fear him.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded. It was the most he has spoken in weeks. The girl opened her mouth, but her voice stammered and she quickly stood up and bowed.

"I-I'm sorry!" she apologized. Sasuke noticed that she was sickly thin. He narrowed his eyes. Whoever this girl was, she surely had no clue how to keep herself healthy. Memories of their first 'meeting' flashed through his mind. The police had been chasing her. She was a thief.

Sasuke didn't pity people. Pity was a waste of time, but as he looked at the girl from the marketplace before him, he knew he had to do something. Either he tosses her to the police or help her. Clearly she wanted to steal his sword to make money from it. His sword was valuable, after all.

Sasuke sighed and pulled out some silver coins from his pocket. He knew he would regret this later. He tossed it at the girl, who yelped as the coins scattered around her on the ground. She looked up, surprised, but Sasuke was already walking away.

Suzu smiled and picked up every coin and pocketed it. She mentally thanked the gods for sending such a gentlemen to her. All memories of her previous encounter with him long gone from her mind.


	6. The Men in Blue

**This is a collab with ReiraKurenai. Written in an Alternative Universe based on the Edo and Meji eras of Japan, this story will be written in drabble/short snippets.**

**We are not affiliated with the creators or producers of Naruto. No profit is made from writing this. We do however, own our OCs.**

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_The Men in Blue_

The silver coins lasted Suzu at least four days, and by the end of those four days she was rather disappointed to go back to her old lifestyle. She didn't like stealing, it was never a pleasant thing to take from another, but she had to survive. Rurijo landed on Suzu's shoulder and chirped lightly. Suzu smiled and stroked the small bird's head with her finger.

The two moved through the village slowly. Suzu's stomach growled the minute the scent of roast pork floated from a restaurant. She also couldn't help, but stare at all the fortunate people who sat at tea houses with hot tea and sweets. How she wished she could be one of them.

A small bakery was located in a corner of the main street. It was rather quiet, since there was a much bigger, mainstream bakery in the center of the village, where everyone flocked to for the daily specials. Suzu felt sorry for the small bakery, and drooled over the delicious pastries and breads that sat on the shelves inside. She didn't want to steal from a business that was already suffering, but Suzu was so hungry. She stepped inside and greeted the baker, who merely looked up from his newspaper and then ignored her. Suzu quickly stuffed a few rolls into her pockets when the baker wasn't looking, then ran for it.

The baker however, noticed. "Hey, you! Police! Police!"

Suzu cursed under her breath when two men dressed in blue robes came chasing after her, swords in hand. Rurijo fluttered around, then took off with the wind, leaving Suzu alone. Suzu continued running, only to stumble over a twig. She collapsed face-first on the ground. She yelped in pain and quickly scrambled to get up, but the shadows of the policemen were already looming over her. Suzu froze and slowly looked at them over her shoulder.

One was a bulky man, with a strange mustache. He was the first to speak, "Finally caught you, Little Red Riding Thief."

The other one was taller and lanky. He smirked, "You're coming with us."

Suzu swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.


	7. The Capture

_**This****is a collab between ReiraKurenai and anime-fan-forever. We are not affiliated with the creators or producers of Naruto. No profit is made from writing this.**_

_The Capture_

Rurijo hovered above as the men in blue grabbed a hold of Suzu's upper arms and hauled her to her feet. It looked as though she was going to just put her head down and co-operate. Rurijo sighed, "That's just not like her, maybe she really does hate herself and..." Then that one man in blue - with a strange mustache and a suit that must have been made from his before he started eating to much - had to open his big mouth!

"Filthy wretch, obviously you are not as good as people give you credit for." With every word Suzu's eyes closed just that little bit more until the anger was evident even through the slit between her lids. Her elbow pulled back with all the force she could muster from her hungry muscles and her heel came in contact with the lanky guy's shin making them both double over with pain.

She pulled her arms free of their now half-hearted attempt to hold her and ran forward. Rurijo watched though as a half dozen more men in blue ran from all around, evidently having been watching from a distance and surrounded her. Rurijo couldn't see her anymore and considered flying to her side but thought twice.

"No sense us bother getting caught now." Suzu got in a few more hits but was overwhelmed and realized she could not escape them. She reduced her fight to struggling and making the men's jobs as hard as possible as they surrounded her like guards and escorted her downtown.

A gentleman with an empty pocket where there should have been silver coins watched from the shadows and then walked out into the street with a straight face, not showing any recognition for the young girl who thought him a gentleman.


	8. The Agreement

_**This is a collab between ReiraKurenai and anime-fan-forever. We are not affiliated with the creators or producers of Naruto. No profit is made from writing this.**_

_The Agreement_

"Oi, you! Guy with the sword and the funny looking hair style...listen up!" Rurijo flew around the man's head a few times and then landed on the ground where his foot was about to land and he stopped, one foot raised, eyes wide.

"A bird is...talking to me," he announced looking up at the sky as though there might be a sign in explanation.

"I may be a bird, but at least I'm genuine, not imitating a DUCK BUTT! Now shut up and listen–" Rurijo launched herself off the ground just as the large foot above her head came down.

"Birds can't talk–"

"This may take a while." Rurijo hovered close to the man's face. "Look, my friend, the girl you helped earlier, she's in danger. You have to save her."

"I don't have any money." The man lifted his chin a little and took a step forward. Rurijo lost her temper and pecked him on the nose with her hard beak. He grabbed his nose with his fist in pain and scrunched up his face.

"Pervert! Not with money, the police got her, the ones with the sword and the stupid hats. You have to go and save her!"

"And why should I do that?"

"Because you can, my friend!" Rurijo landed on his head and started jumping around to annoy him.

The man swatted her away with his hand and tried to keep walking. "Now we're friends?"

"Never, you're a cockatoo, I hate cockatoos!"

"What?"

"Never mind, TURN AROUND NOW!"

"No."

"Duckbutt!"

"Creepy bird!"

"That was a pathetic comeback! Turn around!" Rurijo grabbed onto the collar of his clothes and pulled as hard as she could while he continued to walk.

"No!"

"Cockatoo with a duck butt!"

"Stop calling me that!"

Rurijo flew around in circles near his head and constantly stopped him in his tracks. "Cockatoo with a duck butt!"

"I'm not listening."

"Duck, Duck, goose."

"That's not funny."

Rurijo smirked and continued to fly in his face, deliberately annoying him.

"You are really annoying, y'know that?"

"I've been told before...by a certain loser who thought he could marry me."

"Ugh...a bird is STILL talking to me. And she is hallucinating!"

"And you have a duckbutt on your head. Tell me...does it poop too?"

"You are so dead!" the man swung around and grabbed at the little bird.

"Getting a headache yet?"

"Fine….I'll save her and then will you shut up?"

Rurijo did a flip in the air. "Yay, lets go!" He turned on his heel and ran after the bird who flew ahead of him.


	9. The Man who rescued a Girl

**Disclaimer in previous chapter_  
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_The Man Who Rescued A Girl_

Sasuke was annoyed. Really annoyed. Not only was a bird supposedly talking, but the darn thing demanded that he save her friend, the girl from the marketplace who dressed in a red cloak and stole food. Sasuke wasn't a hero and he didn't have time to go running to everybody's rescue.

So why was he doing it? He couldn't answer that himself.

Sasuke followed Rurijo, who took him on a shortcut. They jumped over several obstacles, including roofs. Finally they reached a small buildings where two men dressed in blue were playing Shogi while smoking. Sasuke stopped and sighed in frustration, then turned to the bird.

"You said she needs to be saved!" he barked.

Rurijo chirped innocently. Sasuke's brow twitched. He glanced inside, and surely enough behind the bars sat the girl from the marketplace. She looked like a mess, her clothes were dirty and she was curled up into a ball. Sasuke couldn't help but pity her...a little. With a frustrated sigh, Sasuke stepped inside the building and approached the policeman on duty.

"I want to bail her out," Sasuke stated, already starting to regret it. Rurijo hovered above him and chirped happily. And now she wasn't talking. Crazy bird.

The policeman raised an eyebrow. "Bail her out? Are you insane, sir? She's a thief – she's been giving us grief for weeks! She's not going anywhere."

Sasuke was pissed off, and he really was not in the mood for this nonsense, so he leaned on the table and narrowed his eyes as he stared at the policeman. The policeman sat back, slightly disturbed. A few seconds passed...the policeman didn't budge. Sasuke grumbled curses under his breath, then pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on the table. "This should be reason enough."

The policeman took the piece of paper, unfolded it, glanced at it and froze. His eyes widened and he looked up into Sasuke's eyes, then back down. The policeman quickly jumped up and headed for the bars to unlock it. Suzu looked up, surprised. The bars opened and Rurijo flew in and immediately sat down on Suzu's head.

Suzu laughed. "Rurijo, there you are! I was so worried!"

The policeman stared at Suzu as if she was crazy, then turned and handed the paper back to Sasuke. "I won't report that you have been here."

Sasuke nodded and slipped a few gold coins in the policeman's pocket, then he turned around and walked out. Suzu watched him, then quickly ran after him and followed him silently. Sasuke knew she was walking behind him, but they were probably heading in the same direction.

Or so he thought.


	10. The Lonely

**This is a collab between ReiraKurenai and anime-fan-forever. We are not affiliated with the creators or producers of Naruto. No profit is made from writing this.  
**  
The Lonely

"Why are you following me?" Sasuke asked as the sun started to lower over the horizon. Suzu did not say anything, but continued walking behind Sasuke. The village was hours behind them already, and with night looming over them, Sasuke knew they, especially the girl, needed rest.

"Go home," Sasuke ordered, but once again, Suzu ignored him. Rurijo was resting on Suzu's shoulder, nuzzled in-between the messy strands of raven hair. Sasuke sighed, he had to get rid of them, and fast. They would be nothing but a burden to him. Sasuke stopped walking, which made Suzu freeze behind him. He turned around, grabbed her wrist forcefully and narrowed his eyes dangerously, hoping to scare her. However, all Suzu did was blink.

"Aren't you scared?" Sasuke asked, "I'm a warrior. I've killed people."

Suzu merely smiled. "No, I'm not scared."

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked, even more annoyed than before.

"Nothing," was Suzu's innocent reply.

Frustrated, Sasuke let Suzu go. "We'll rest here for the night." Suzu nodded and disappeared into the shadows, announcing that she would gather some wood for a fire. Sasuke sat down against a tree, tucking Kusanagi over his shoulder and under his arm. Rurijo settled herself on his shoulder.

"She's lonely," Rurijo stated.

"I didn't ask," Sasuke replied coldly.

"I know."


	11. The Blast From The Past

**This is a collab between ReiraKurenai and Emiko96 (formerly anime-story-lover).**

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_The Blast From The Past_

The girl kept following him, and he didn't know why. Every time he looked over his shoulder that annoying little bop in her step irritated him to no end. He thought of spinning on his heel and pinning her to a tree with his sword, it would be easy since she was so frail, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. So he continued to endure her presence and that of the annoying bird, who would not shut up.

And then they arrived at a village. A small excuse for a modern settlement but a village none the less. Where they could restock for what little he could afford.

Suzu watched Sasuke silently and cautiously until something bright and red caught her eye. It was eye-catching. And then her stomach grumbled, loudly. So loudly, Sasuke gave her a dirty look.

It was a Ramen stand. And Suzu was drooling. Sasuke wondered if the universe hated him. Another ramen lover….a blast from the past. An unwelcome one at that.

So he did what anyone would do in that situation. He slapped himself on the forehead. Mentally, of course. However the physical action was tempting to say the least.

"Can we please?" Suzu piped up from under his arm, looking up at him with doe eyes that sparkled in the midday sunlight.

He slapped himself again. Mentally, of course. Even her eyes reminded him of that stupid fox...

He was about to say no, and then he saw Rurijo's evil glare. That glare would have set any hardened man in his place, even if it was from a bird less than an 8th of his size. So he gave in with a heavy sigh.

Little did the small group know, someone was watching them from the shadows…


	12. The Introduction

**This is a collab between ReiraKurenai and Emiko96.**

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_The Introduction_

The campfire blazed, casting a red glow on the faces of the two humans on opposite sides of the pit. Rurijo was swaying from side to side on her tiny little talons, appearing to be drunk. It must have been the sake from the ramen place earlier that day.

Kusanagi was safely tucked under Sasuke's arm and his onyx eyes were closed, but that didn't mean he wasn't alert. It was for this reason that he jumped three feet in the air when the silence was finally broken by the girl.

"I'm Suzu by the way."

"And why should I care?" Sasuke asked with a blank voice and expression equally so.

"I just realised we were never formally introduced."

"There are no formalities out here kiddo."

"Kiddo? How old are you?" Suzu asked, annoyed for being considered a child.

"Seventeen. Not that it's any of your business."

Suzu huffed. "Well, I'm fifteen, so you're not really that much older."

"Hn."

"What does 'hn' mean?"

"Hn."

Suzu frowned. Obviously this conversation was not veering in the right direction. Maybe she should trick him into telling her his name, how, was the question. She glanced at Rurijo and an idea struck. Rurijo seemed to notice the glint in Suzu's eyes, because she hopped on Sasuke's shoulder and pecked his ear.

"Peck me one more time and I will blast you into smithereens, bird," Sasuke grunted, his eyes once again closed but his brows furrowed.

"Duck butt, right? That's your name?"

Sasuke really hated this bird. Especially when she continued to chant that pet name, and he was no-one's pet.

"Duck butt, duck butt, duck, duck, goose, duck butt," Rurijo began to sing aria style. Sasuke grabbed for the hilt of Kusanagi and Rurijo flew from his shoulder and burrowed under Suzu's short hair, poking her head out one more time.

"DUCK BUTT!"

"Fine," Sasuke sighed in defeat, "my name is Uchiha Sasuke. Now stop chanting that nonsense or I will cut you down with the girl."

Suzu's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm not 'the girl', its Suzu. And threaten Rurijo again and I will put your hair on fire."

Sasuke sat down and did not reply. Closing his eyes he sank back and seemed to fall asleep. He had expected Suzu to recognise his name, but she didn't. He didn't know what to think of it.

Suzu stared at him a moment longer and then lay down as well, facing him so that he could not do anything unexpected during the night. She smiled evilly to herself. Sasuke, it sounded a bit like Sauce. Indeed, she knew how to get under his skin.


End file.
